


Bubbly

by faerygutzexe



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mental Institution, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Mental Instability, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2019-11-05 10:56:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17917433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faerygutzexe/pseuds/faerygutzexe
Summary: Rehab surely didnt work. Maybe something else would.Klaus was crazy, after all.Right?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> After years of bouncing from addiction to addiction, from rehab to rehab, The Hargreeves decide it's time to do something a bit more to help Klaus get clean.

Everything felt empty.

But at the same time , Klaus felt .. bubbly . He felt alive.

Of course, this feeling would never last. Usually it dissolved after a few hours, leaving him lower than he was when the night began. He relished in the feeling, the charade that there were no consequences and that he could just do this forever.

This idea usually ended with him waking up in some random place. Klaus was particularly fond of behind/in dumpsters, and the occasional random person’s floor, closet, or on rare occasions, beds.

He wasn’t the sort to go whoring around, of course, but every now and then he’d get too fucked up to even fathom saying no to anyone who offered. 

And this morning just happened to be one of those times. The man woke up, immediately regretting the decision to open his eyes when the dim light of the room made his head throb. His whole body ached, especially his lower half and his head, prompting him to only imagine what had gone on once he blacked out the night prior.

Groaning, Klaus used a considerable amount of what little energy he had to sit up. His short black hair was matted to his forehead, and his stomach was swimming. God, he felt sick. It took him a few moments to collect himself enough to realise where he was.

Last night had been a huge party at some guy’s house. No one Klaus knew, but of course he felt obliged to go, since he was already too intoxicated to make rational decisions. So he stumbled his way into the already crowded house, drank a whole lot more than he should’ve probably puked one too many times, and blacked out.

Now he was in a bedroom, presumably in the house, at the back where the party had gotten a little less chaotic in one way and a little more chaotic in a different way. He was on the floor, sitting on a stained carpet that would definitely need to be washed after the events of last night.

He was right next to a bed, which he had probably rolled off of or was pushed off of sometime during the night. One or two people were still passed out on top of the bed, although it was hard to tell from where he was sitting. The room itself was in ruins, clothes and blankets strewn across the floor, the only lamp broken and on its side. The only thing that had stayed in its place was an alarm clock, which read 5:24 pm. 

After a few moments of sitting on the floor, zoned out in thought of what he’d done at said party, Klaus managed to get himself upright, and was rummaging through the drawers of furniture, seeing if there was anything of value he could maybe (most likely) pawn for drug money. All he found was a couple of crumpled dollar bills, a watch, and a broken necklace with an emerald on the charm. Hopefully it was real, that could get him a few nights worth of oxy if he went to the right guy.

But now Klaus faced another problem. The drugs had almost completely worn off, leaving him sluggish and achy, his head throbbing and his stomach threatening to empty itself again. He felt horrible, and knew that he was going to end up feeling the exact same way when the next high wore itself off, but he didn’t care one bit. He needed to keep the damn voices at bay. He didnt care what it would take.

Whatever. He’d deal with that later. Trudging out of the room, he made his way to the kitchen, being as quiet as he could to not knock something over or step on someone who was sleeping. He needed ibuprofen. Or aspirin. Something to take the edge off the pain. Of course, he doubted it would do him much good after all the years of taking oxy and vicodin to numb himself. 

Luckily, most of the cabinets were open, making it easy for Klaus to dig through them in search of painkillers. In the back of one cabinet, he found an old bottle of ibuprofen. The small red pills were a nice sight for him. He popped four into his mouth, immediately regretting not washing them down with anything. The taste of the pills lingered in his mouth for longer than he would’ve liked.

Soon enough, the man had made it out of the house, and was walking down the sidewalk, hopefully in the right direction to make it to the middle of town. Or , at least to a pawn shop. The sun beat down on him, making his headache ten times worse. He could barely keep his eyes open as he walked, his pace a slow but steady stumble.

It was at this point that Klaus realised he had no idea where he was, or how to get home. He was too out of it to just look up how to get to his old home, and so he pulled out his phone and called the first number he found. Which just happened to be Diego, the only person he truly trusted in a situation like this. After a few rings of the phone, he heard a familiar voice speak on the other end.

“ … Hello? Klaus?”

Klaus held the phone to his ear and spoke as clearly as he could. His voice came out sounding raspy and worn.

“ Hey, uh .. I’m lost “

He heard a very audible groan, before the other responded.

“Where are you? I’ll come and get you.”

 

“Good question, where am i - “-

Quickly, the man looked around to find a street sign or some landmark. Klaus spotted a run down diner and a department store.

“Uh … across the street from that old diner that’s been there forever and a shopping place. I think it’s .. Acorn street? I don't remember exactly.”

He mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. Diego responded after a moment of silence.

“Yeah, yeah .. I know what you’re talking about. I’ll be there in like, ten minutes.”

At this, Klaus smiled and practically jumped. He knew he could count on Diego to help him out.

“Thanks, I’ll see you then.”

He hung up, after whispering a soft goodbye and plopping down on the dirty sidewalk to wait for his dear brother. He felt woozy, like the world was spinning. But he didn’t care. All that mattered was that soon enough, he’d be back at his bullshit, high as a kite and too numb to care what he did.

Of course, recklessness like that came with a few downsides. There had been a few times when he’d taken a few too many pills and ended up in the hospital, but it never had been a big issue to him. He was better off dead anyways. Might as well just keep hoping for the worst.

Sometimes his shenanigans got him into trouble. Stealing, gambling, selling himself. It was a wonder how he hadn't gotten caught in such a lot time. Klaus had been to jail, but never for longer than a week or a few nights. He knew how to get off easy, and having a loaded father just made it all the more easy to escape consequences.

Then there was the blackouts. How he’d get so intoxicated, he’d lose hours, sometimes whole days of his life. Of course, he could only assume the worst had happened in that time, much like the night before, when he had probably let himself be fucked senseless by anyone willing to do it. That itself came with risks, risks Klaus didn't care to worry about because, after all, he was going to die eventually. He doubted anyone would ever love him. So, why did he care what happened to him?

Klaus was snapped out of his thoughts by Diego, who was talking to him. He’d found the poor lost man, and had gotten out of his car when he realised the other was zoned out.

“God, Klaus, what the fuck happened to you? You wander off for three days, and this is how i find you? You’re filthy.”

Up until now, Klaus hadn’t realised the state of his clothing. Or himself. He absolutely reeked of alcohol and cigarette smoke, among other things. He got up from the curb, running a hair through the mess of hair on his head. Boy, he needed a shower. And bad. Non-stop partying was only good for so long until he started looking like the mess he was and then everyone would stop trying to hit on him.

“Fuck … i’m sorry. I’ve lost track of the days… i was gone for three whole days?”

He groaned, following Diego back to the car as he spoke, half dragging his feet along the ground.

“That’s right. You left on Tuesday without a word. Scared the shit out of half of us. We thought you weren’t gonna come back.”

Diego rolled his eyes at the sight of his brother, as they both climbed into the car. It was silent as Klaus sat down, closing the door as gently as he could to avoid any pain that would come with the noise. He buckled his seatbelt, only because he knew Diego would give him shit if he didnt. He was hoping his brother would spare the conversation until they had safely gotten home, but alas, he was wrong.

“First of all, where the hell have you been? It’s been three fucking days, what took you so long?”

Diego’s words cut into his skull, making his head throb just a bit more. Klaus responded softly, wincing at the pain that arched down his spine. With every word, he shut his eyes tighter, trying to block out the blinding light of the sun.

“Out. Doing shit. The usual.”

“So you mean partying and getting wasted?”

“Shit, you know me too well. Of course.”

“... Of course. It was stupid of me to ask. Of course that’s what you were fucking doing, that’s what you’re always doing.”

“Sounds like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

Klaus mumbled, eyes closed, head resting on the back of his seat. He could feel Diego’s anger, and couldn’t help but be an ass about it. He didnt know how else to respond.

“Damn right. Do you know how much we all were worried sick about you? Do you even care? Klaus, you can’t keep doing this to yourself.”

“And why not? I’m not hurting anyone.”

“You’re hurting us. And yourself. I know you couldn’t care less about what happens to you, but i do. We all do. Luther, Allison, Five. Every time you leave i wonder if you’ll come back. Because I’m scared that one day you won’t.”

Klaus blocked out his dumb speech. He didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to think about other people. All that mattered was himself. How fucking selfish of him. Right? That’s what it was called, when you only cared about yourself. The reality of it was, that Klaus did care about everyone else. He just didn’t know how to. He saw himself as a burden, someone who just leeched off of others because he was too stuck in his ways to even consider getting better.

“Klaus. Klaus! Are you even fucking listening to me?”

Diego half shouted at his brother, trying to get his attention. He managed a reply, opening his eyes a bit to see where they were. Almost home. Soon he could shower, maybe sleep a little, and get right back to being high as a kite. Just how things should be.

“Yeah … yeah. ‘M listening. “

Diego didn’t even glance at him as he spoke. A tear had run down his face, and he gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, trying not to go too fast.

“You better be .. we gotta do something to help you, ok? Rehab obviously isn’t working.”

The sound of that just made Klaus squirm a bit in his seat. He loathed the idea of getting ‘better’. He didn’t believe in such a notion. Him, better? Functioning as a normal adult? Now that was fucking scary. He didn’t want to imagine such things. He didn’t want to get better/

“Listen, Diego, I don’t need to get better. I don’t need any help. All rehab ever did was shove a bunch of bullshit down my throat and send me on my merry way with a twenty dollar bill and a good luck card.”

“God, you’re so fucking stubborn! For once, i just want you to listen to me. Just. Once. I’m sick of this. I wanna be proud to have you as a brother. Please make me proud. Please.”

Diego’s voice cracked right as he pulled into the parking space out front. He hated getting emotional in front of anyone, but sometimes Klaus pushed him too far. And now was one of those times.

Klaus took that as an opportunity to escape the situation, and the ugly truth of it all. He wasn’t going to admit Diego was right. Never. He wasn’t going to get help. They’d have to drag him, kicking and screaming, to get him anywhere. He didn’t need help. At least, that’s what he wanted to believe. 

“Klaus, where the hell do you think you’re going?”

Klaus paused his hurried escape to answer his brother, closely watching him as he exited the car, trying to catch up to him.

“My room. I wanna sleep.”

Klaus responded, almost too quickly. Of course, he didn’t plan on going right to sleep. He needed to find out if he had any money laying around. Or maybe some pills he had hidden in his room. He needed a fix before he started hearing things again.

“Fine. But if you’re high the next time i see you, we’re gonna have a problem.”

“No promises.”

He turned to walk away, but Diego grabbed him by the shirt collar, glaring at him.

“I mean it, Klaus. I see you high , or drunk , or even drinking , and I swear to god, you’re going right to rehab. Or somewhere. I dont know where.”

Klaus just stared at him, letting that process in his head for a second before wiggling out of his brother’s grip and shrugging it off. A smirk graced his features.

“Sure, whatever. You always say that.”

Diego looked a little hurt by this, shoulders sagging at the thought. He was right. He never did anything to stop Klaus. Why was this time going to be any different? No, he was determined to do something. He knew for certain that the man would be high as a kite in an hour or so. 

He shuffled his feet, walking away, letting Klaus wander off to his room, heading off to find the others. He needed to have a little chat with them, so he could actually come up with a good idea on what to do with his junkie brother.

Meanwhile, Klaus had gone off to his room, and landed on his bed, going through each and every old stuffed animal, looking for holes in them. Every pillow, every drawer. He tore his room apart, looking for a bag or a pill or something. After about twenty minutes of searching, the man found something. Finally, he could get rid of the throbbing in his head.

It only took a few moments for the pills in his hand to disappear from sight, already down his throat. He sat back, eyes closed, waiting for the numbness to wash over him and for everything to be alright. It was only two, after all. There was no harm in just two.

Klaus’ head floated. The drug slowly began to kick in, and he felt himself drifting. The pain in his head went away first, and then he got tired. His eyes drooped, but he didnt sleep. He just let the feeling overwhelm him, and was , for once, at peace. God, this felt nice. Everything was ok. His head was quiet, his body felt fine. 

He would’ve stayed like this forever if he could. Just laying there, eyes closed, mind blank, all warm and cosy and ready for anything life threw at him.

But nothing could prepare him for his bedroom door being swung open, and Luther grabbing him and slinging him over his shoulder.

“Hey - what the fuck, guys ?!”

He whined, too far gone to fully fight against what was happening.

Luther just responded in his normal, gravelly voice, not letting go of the man despite his squirming.

“We’re taking you somewhere to get better.”

“Wh - what ? No …. No no no … I dont need to get better. Cmon , guys .. dont send me back to rehab - “-

Klaus whined, kicking Luther’s chest, trying everything to get him to put him down. It wasnt working. Suddenly, two other familiar faces showed up in his field of vision. A clearly pained Diego, and Allison, who was as serious as ever.

“You’re … you’re not going to rehab, Klaus. “

“Well then, where the fuck are you taking me? Hell? “

“You need help, Klaus. Someone who will listen and be able to fix the voices in your head.”

“God. just fucking spit it out, Diego. I dont wanna hear your sob story.”

Diego shifted uncomfortably, looking as if he was trying to figure out how to word his next sentence. He ran a hand through his hair, not quite making eye contact with Klaus.

“Klaus, we’re taking you to a mental facility. Just a few blocks over. So you can get better.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter bounces back between what is the present and a few hours prior, continuing last chapter's events while also meeting klaus hours later, giving a little insight into the hospital.

Everything was white. Everywhere Klaus looked screamed bleak and horrible. He’d only been there a few hours and he already felt restless. His high was beginning to fade, meaning the throbbing in his head was slowly creeping back, making the bright lights of his room practically blinding.

Klaus was sprawled across what was apparently a bed, even though it was just a mattress on the floor. Of course they didn’t even have bed frames. There was probably a good reason for that, but he wasn’t in the mood to go bug someone about it.

He’d been put in a room with another person, who he had yet to see. He was half sure they didn’t even exist. The whole ward was like a community center bingo night. A lot of people were strewn about, but no one was talking. It was so quiet he could swear he heard the tv softly making noise, probably some boring channel that was just enough to entertain whatever poor soul had sat down in front of it.

After a while, he’d lost track of how long he’d been laying there. He’d refused a tour of any sort, insisting on being shown to his room and being left alone for the time being. He was pissed off. At his family, at the people in the hospital, at the world. This wasn’t part of Klaus’ plan. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He was supposed to be out by now. 

What time was it? Almost 9 pm, according to the plain clock that he wasn’t sure he could trust. Klaus wasn’t even sure he could trust himself at this point. He’d managed to get into the hospital without them finding any trace of the drugs he’d smuggled in. Don’t even ask him how he did that, he didn’t even want to think about how desperate such a thing sounded.

The clock was ticking, just a bit too loudly for Klaus to be able to tolerate. Every little sound cut into his brain, making the throbbing almost unbearable. Maybe he’d actually get up and investigate what was going on. He’d refused to go to dinner, and surprisingly, the nurse who’d tried to summon him to the meal had let him off with nothing more than a warning that this was his only free pass, and that after this he had to at least go to dinner. She said nothing about eating, however. 

Sitting up took more energy than he’d expected, and he figured it was about time he go see what the fuck was about. He’d had just about enough of recounting what had happened in the last few hours.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Klaus, we’re taking you to a mental facility. Just a few blocks away. So you can get better.”

As soon as Klaus heard those words, he began to thrash in his brother’s arms, managing to almost wriggle out of his grip before just being grabbed again. Rehab was one thing. But .. this? He’d heard nothing but horror stories about places like that. He couldn’t go there. Never. 

“Wh - what? No way, you can’t make me go there. I refuse. “

“You’re a danger to yourself. It doesn’t matter how you feel about it, and if you want to go. You’re not stable. And i refuse to let my brother destroy himself over an illness that can be alleviated.”

This time, it wasnt Diego who spoke, but someone else. Allison. She’d been silent this whole time, but spoke sternly in response to his protests. This was it. Klaus didn’t have anything to say, nothing snarky or asshole-ish came to mind. He just kept kicking, panicking from being held so tightly. Luther was anything but fazed by his struggling. 

“Fine , fine. You’re probably right. Just … can i get a few things?”

Klaus groaned, finally going near limp in the other’s arms, admitting defeat. He wasnt going to get out of this, so he might as well try to make it a little more comfortable for him. 

Surprisingly, Luther put him down, and Diego spoke up.

“You have ten minutes. And don’t even think about trying to hide some drugs anywhere, i have no doubt they won’t search you when we arrive. Especially with why you’re going.”

He took a moment to let the words sink in, before ushering everyone out of the room. He left the door open, to make sure Klaus didn’t get any ideas.

And so, there the man stood, still a greasy mess from his nights of partying prior, quickly trying to figure out what he could bring. He picked out a few non threatening items, things he knew he might need while there.

His ball of blue yarn and knitting needles were the first thing he picked up. He was a bit weary of bringing the needles to the ward, but knew it was his favourite thing to do in his free time, so that was something he’d bring. A small stuffed bunny, the only one he’d never been able to cut a hole in to hide pills. He couldn’t bear the thought of doing such a thing to his favourite little guy, who he embarrassedly, still slept with.

Other than that, he grabbed a few shirts, his nicest ones, and sweatpants. His trusty leather pants probably wouldn’t go over well with the others. He stuffed everything into a bag, making sure not to crush his bunny as he did.

Out of the corner of his eye, Klaus spotted a familiar sight. A small plastic bag, sitting in the bottom of his drawer. It had been hidden by clothes, but the half a dozen pills inside were probably still good enough for him to take if he really needed to.

He grabbed it, knowing this could be his only source for a little while. He’d have to make it last somehow. And he needed to hide it. Somehow. 

Trudging out of his room, Klaus held out the small bag of clothing of miscellaneous items for Diego to look through. And he used that as the perfect excuse to ask if he could use the bathroom before they left.

Begrudgingly, he was allowed to do so, and he took this opportunity to saunder off, going in with the bag stuffed in a pocket, and coming out with the bag nowhere to be found on his person. God, that was going to be a horrible thing to get back.

“You ready, Klaus?”

The man was asked as soon as he came into sight, and he managed a nod in response. Everything seemed so solemn in a way. Maybe it was just the drugs clouding his mind, but he felt… scared. Anxious in a way. This was new and scary for even him. Yeah, he’d been to jail a few times. He’d stayed away from home for long periods of time. But this was nothing compared to that. He didn’t know when he was getting out. And that scared him the most. He hated not knowing such things.

The next thirty minutes were a hazy blur for Klaus. Getting into the car, his bag on his lap. Buckling his seatbelt like he knew he needed to. Everyone else piling into the car. The tension and silence that came with the car ride there. Diego looked like he was crying. Luther just stared in front of him, at the sunny sky, at the oncoming traffic he always loathed. Allison had only agreed to ride with them for moral support. She sat next to Klaus, but refused to even look at him.

Only Diego and Klaus got out of the car when they finally got to the seemingly harmless building, looking more like an old mansion than an actual hospital type building. But nonetheless, it was still daunting as hell, looming over Klaus as they walked across the parking lot like a bad hangover. 

Entering the building was equally as scary, the interior nothing like the outside. Everything was white, and clean. It didnt smell quite like he’d imagined, not like soap and alcohol prep pads and other things that usually were associated with such places. More like … lived in. The room reminded him of stale cigarettes and old people.

The front lobby was weirdly arranged, a large desk right in the front. There were no doors around or near the desk, not normal ones anyway. He would tell those doors were made to keep people from escaping. They were heavy looking, made of what looked like metal and frosted glass. There were doorknobs, but were probably locked from the inside. 

The front desk looked friendly enough. It wasn’t as heavily protected as the space around it was. Next to the space occupied by the desk and doors was a small waiting area, a few rows of inviting but worn chairs arranged around a small tv mounted to the wall, which at the moment, wasn’t on.

Diego led his brother to the desk, who followed behind like a child following their mother up to a store counter. Klaus hated being so damn anxious, but his heart was pounding out of his chest. He wasnt sure what was about to happen, and he sure as hell didn’t wanna find out.

“I’m here to admit someone.”

The lady behind the desk looked up. Her face looked like she could potentially be friendly, a middle aged woman with graying hair. But he expression said ‘i hate this job, and everyone here’. Klaus didnt blame her for that. He doubted he’d find a job as a secretary anywhere as a dream job. More so just a job that had somewhat decent pay and was available for anyone willing to take it.

The receptionist took one look at Klaus, who was standing partially behind diego, and nodded.

“What’s your reasoning for doing so?”

“He’s a danger to himself. And he refuses to get help on his own, so i felt like i had no choice.”

Diego quickly explained, and the lady responded by sighing and handing him a thin packet of paperwork.

“Fill out what you can real quick. Then you can admit him.”

Thanking her, he took the paper, and a pen, and led Klaus towards the waiting room space, so they could fill out the paperwork. Of course, Klaus was as  
helpful as a blank piece of paper, and just shrugged at most of the questions, which just led his brother to groan in frustration and scribble down as much information as he could.

After that mess, Klaus followed the other back to the desk, where his brother handed the mostly complete paperwork to the lady, who looked over it quickly, and pressed a button under her desk. One of the doors made a buzzing noise, and unlocked for them to enter. Diego insisted on going with Klaus until the last possible moment, keeping close to him, and urging him to continue whenever his brother would pause his walking out of anxiety.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Stepping out into the hallway was one thing for Klaus. Actually talking to anyone was another. He kept to himself as he shuffled out of the room, more timid than he would’ve liked. The hallway was too bright, it made his head pound.

He looked around, looking for anyone who was there too, only spotting a nurse and another guy. They paid no attention to him. The guy seemed to be trying to get something out of the nurse, probably pain killers.

His head was too hazy to bother with them at the moment, so he decided now was the time to finally get that tour. And this time he’d try to figure shit out on his own. The hallway was dimly lit, but too white and clean for Klaus’ taste. It had dark oak doors lining the walls, each one with a whiteboard on the door. The whiteboard on his door was divided into two sections, each holding a name and what was probably what level of freedom they were currently at . At the top, it displayed his so called roommate’s name. 

‘Ricky’ was written in green marker, along with a ‘supervised free time, last warning’ under it. Then there was a partition, in the same green marker, and then his name.

‘Klaus; supervised free time, lenient rules’

Klaus read that a few times. He wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but he was sure someone would eventually explain it all to him. And at least he now knew who the hell his roommate was. Maybe he’d actually be able to put a face to the name after this adventure of sorts.

He walked slowly, reading other door’s whiteboard. Most said the same thing as his, or similar things with varying levels of supervision, and warnings. A few said ‘restricted’ , making him wonder just what that meant. It seemed a bit scary. Restricted to what?

Shrugging, he carried on down the hallway, at a pace that seemed more wandering than walking. He didn’t know where the hallway led, so he just kept walking, to find out.

At the end of hall was a big room, mostly empty, and full of other patients, all in different states of mind and consciousness. Some were crashed on on of the two worn and beat up couches, half asleep, watching the tv drone on.

Others were pacing about, some having full blown conversations with either other people or themselves. Klaus would fit right in here, especially when he started going into withdrawals. He looked around, watching people interact. He wasn’t sure what else to do.

Well, until a man, a little younger than Klaus, walked right up to him. He was tall, and skinny, wearing a giant sweater that seemed to swallow his body. Grown out bleached hair stuck out every which way, tangled and unwashed. He studied the new person, seemingly intrigued.

“Hiya, newbie. Welcome to hell.”

Klaus gulped.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Oh my god, you gotta be kidding me - “

Was all Klaus could say when he was instructed to strip down to his underwear so they could physically examine him. He wasn’t prepared for this at all, minding the fact he wasn’t prepared for any of this. Of course, he protested, all while begrudgingly stomping off his shoes.

“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

That was as much sympathy as the nurse doing so was willing to give. She just crossed her arms and waited after she’d told him what he needed to do, obviously not about to give in to the childish whining of a high twenty year old.

So, Klaus just gave in, accepting his fate. He was in too deep to change anything now. The examination went on, poking and prodding aside, as Diego waited outside, worryingly pacing. He was certainly starting to regret things, but had to keep telling himself that this was for the best. It was for the best. Klaus needed to get better. He needed to get better and this was the only way.

Minutes seemed like hours, but soon enough, the time had come. Klaus’ things had been searched, and they surprisingly let him keep everything. Knitting needles and everything. Well, only with the agreement he would use them under supervision, and keep them away from everyone else as to avoid an …. Incident.

And then, the time came.

“Mr. Hargreeves, your brother is going to be admitted so we can evaluate him. Sign this form, and then you can say your goodbyes.”

The next few minutes were bittersweet, as Diego scribbled out a messy signature, his hand too shaky to hold the pen straight. He handed back the paper, along with the pen, and turned to his brother.

“Hey, I gotta go now. Remember, this is so you can get better. I’ll visit you every chance i get.”

Klaus scoffed, holding out his arms for the other to hug him.

“I’m not a baby, Diego. But I dont hate you for this. You remember that.”

Diego accepted the hug, keeping it short and sweet to avoid him bursting into tears. Clinging to the other one last time before he’d have to leave. He pulled away and attempted a smile, backing away.

“I’ll see you soon, Klaus. Take care.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“Love you too.”

Diego’s backing away turned into him walked away, and the other watched him leave in silence. The nurses approached Klaus, and he held up his arms, smiling like the smart ass he was. He giggled, speaking loud enough for diego to hear, who was almost to the security door.

“Take me away, i’m ready to go to hell.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also i'm very sorry for not updating this in a month, i've been dealing with a lot of schoolwork and my mental health hasn't been the best. chapter three is slowly being written, and hopefull it'll be up in the next week or so.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is more so a filler chapter, so i'm sorry it's a bit shorter than the other chapters! i'm also sorry for taking a month and a half to update, ive been busy with school and mental health and life. i hope you enjoy it, and hopefully i'll be quicker to write chapter four, which will actually have a few interesting plot points in it.

Klaus wasn’t much contribution to their conversation, as who he assumed was Ricky took the liberty to show him around. He wasn’t too sure about the credibility of the other, but he looked to have been there long enough to know the place like the back of his hand. So, he followed the other around closely, hands to his mouth like a child so he could chew on his dirty thumbnail.

Ricky’s voice faded into the background, but every word seemed to stab Klaus’ throbbing head. He wasn’t quite listening, simply absorbing information he’d probably forget later on. He couldn’t focus with the fluorescent lights making him wince. Instead, he focused on the one non-blindingly plain thing in sight - Ricky.

Ricky was a bit shorter than Klaus - a few inches, he was probably 5’10 or 5’9. Somewhere around that height. Klaus couldn’t remember off the top of his head how tall he was - but he knew for certain he was taller than the man leading him around.

He wasn’t ugly, that was for sure. Just a little … strange looking. He had unruly bleach blond hair that had grown out a considerable amount since the last time it’d been done. It was knotted and unkempt, but didn’t look dirty. It had a few little braids in it, with beads weaved into them. 

His face was a bit attractive, as Klaus found it. It was quite intriguing as well, with a few too many (in his opinion) piercings just barely visible due to the lack of jewelry in them. Most of them had nothing, maybe a clear spacer in the occasional one, just visible enough for him to see out of the corner of his eye. Plastic was less harmful if swallowed, Klaus assumed. 

It was at this moment that Klaus realised how many precautions they probably had to take here to keep the patients .. safe from themselves and their self destructive urges. Like making Ricky put plastic spacers in his piercings and not letting people’s nails get too long.

Klaus was utterly horrified when they made him take off the nail polish- or what was left of it- off his nails, as that had always been something he loved doing. Maybe he could persuade one of the staff into giving him nail polish or something of the sorts. He hated looking at his bare nails, He hated how plain they looked. He liked it better when his nails were painted some obnoxious colour, one that would catch other people's eyes at the sight of them.

Klaus loved being the center of attention. But that turned out to be a bit of a problem here. Here, he simply fit in. He was probably, in some ways, what one would call one of the sanest people there. Yeah, he saw stuff that wasn't there, but he didn't dare label himself as being crazy because of it. He didn't see it as an illness, per se, more so a problem that was easily solved with a little solution known as drugs. What kind of drugs, one might wonder? Whatever he could get his hands on. oxy, coke, xanax, whatever was cheapest in that moment. 

He could tell, as they were walking down a hall, and Ricky was waving his hands about, that Ricky probably had one of those drug problems. The man's hands shook quite noticeably, but he seemed quite accustomed to such. He also seemed very, very energetic. Although the latter could be explained by a slew of other things.

“Hey, you alright? you’re being super quiet.” Ricky had stopped walking, a brief pause in his pace so he could look back at Klaus, who had been surprisingly quiet. 

“Hmm? Oh .. yeah, i’m fine. just got a killer headache.” Klaus responded in his normal nonchalant tone, rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke.

“Well, maybe we can bum some ibuprofen from the nursing station later. If you want.”

“....You can do that?”

“There are a lot of things you can do here that i doubt you’d imagine you could. I can’t promise that all of them are following the rules.” Ricky shrugged, smiling at the other and gesturing for them to keep walking.

Klaus nodded and followed, realising there hadn’t been much conversation at all since his first introduction to this man. Only his first remark, a few bits of small talk that had already slipped Klaus’ mind, and an offer for him to show the newbie around. 

Ricky’s presence was a little unnerving for Klaus, even if Klaus was taller and had a little bit more muscle than the other, who he assumed had sticks for arms just like his legs. Although, he couldn’t be sure with the heavy sleeves of the man’s sweater making it impossible to determine the shape of his arms.

The one thing Klaus had been curious about wasn’t something Ricky had even mentioned. So, he spoke up finally, asking.

“Hey, uh .. off topic but i’m really curious as to what the shit on those whiteboards mean - “ Klaus asked, really close to just poking Ricky to get his attention.

Ricky didn’t turn around, but his tone was about all he needed to scare the shit out of the unprepared Klaus.

“How about you shut your pretty little mouth, and we’ll get to that when we fucking do?” He snapped back, making the other jump. His voice started out a little too charming, going dark by the end of the sentence, making his expression almost audible.

Klaus, of course, shut up after that, tensing up a little. He looked at his feet, continuing to walk at somewhat the same pace as Ricky, as Ricky resumed talking. His voice was once again calm and almost soothing in a way, the air between them quite peaceful in an uneasy sort of way, making Klaus wish he wasn’t there.  
Although, he wasn’t sure what he expected with anyone here. Call him biased for thinking in such a way, but he was inclined to think so knowing he was the exact same way. And, Klaus being Klaus, eventually spoke up again, a few minutes later

“Well, how about you answer my question, buddy? No need to be so hostile. “

Ricky paused in his long winded speech, but didn’t answer the other’s question until a bit later in their seemingly endless journey down the identical hallways lined with doors.

“The whiteboards are there to tell nurses - and I suppose, other people, who’s the in room at any given time, and what their current privilege is. See, I’m currently on supervised free time .. free time meaning going out of the room and walking around. It’s supervised because I tend to cause chaos. You’re on supervised as well, so i guess we can cause chaos together if you’re into that. Oh, and lenient rules is just so you can get used to shit. “

Ricky explained quickly, trying not to take too much time on the topic as he urged the other to continue down the hall.

And continue they did, down the hall as the man spoke and the other followed.


End file.
